Roll of Honor
Incident
Police Officer Robert Kearse suffered a fatal asthma attack while en route to an alarm call at 9:00 p.m.
Earlier in the evening, Officer Kearse had responded to a disturbance at a park where he and other officers broke up multiple fights. Immediately afterward, he checked in with dispatch and was winded. While on his way to an alarm call, he called dispatch in distress at 18th Avenue and Wynnton. Officers arrived on the scene and found him unresponsive. Despite life-saving measures, he was unable to be revived.
Officer Kearse was a United States Marine Corps veteran and had served with the Columbus Police Department for eight months.
Survivors
He is survived by his wife and two children.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-GA-75D1EB4A- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- April 2, 2026
- Last updated
- July 23, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
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Tributes
I served 1985 to 1993. You served too, before the badge - different uniform, same idea. You go where you are sent and you do not get to pick the call.
Police Officer Kearse served with the Columbus Police Department.
Thank you for your service to the Columbus community. Thank you for your service before it. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, brother.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Military Service
Robert Tyrone Kearse, Sr. served in the Marine Corps (1987â1999) before joining law enforcement.
Police Officer Robert Tyrone Kearse, Sr. is one of 2,974 officers lost to illness connected to their service across the full record of this memorial — 9.1% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In GA, 63 of 903 officers were lost to illness connected to their service — 7% of this state's fallen. That is 2.1 percentage points below the national rate of 9.1%.
At Columbus Police Dept., 1 of 26 officers on record were lost to illness connected to their service — 3.8% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Illness compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Robert Tyrone Kearse, Sr.'s cause is highlighted.
How Robert Tyrone Kearse, Sr. Compares
When Illness Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Illness deaths across the full memorial record. Robert Tyrone Kearse, Sr. is highlighted in May.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
25 officers from Columbus Police Dept. are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
